Is The Role Of A Journalist Changing In Our Society And Why?

In the Uk, we find ourselves in a media and press environment in which is self-regulated, unlikecountries like China that have specific rules that underpin their press regulation. It is thought amongst our media that a liberal democracy is how we should operate.

The competitive paradigm looks at pluralist (liberal democracy) media as ‘a public sphere’. Jurgen Habermas came up with this idea of having a space accessible to everybody in which decisions can be made.

The media is referred to as a 'Fourth Estate'. This is the idea that the press and other publishers act as a type of ‘watchdog’. Edmund Burke argued that established social classes would abuse their power and as result the ‘fourth estate’ was created.

Having heard the points of Habermas and Burke, the media slowly began to have a more influential role in the media as there was no manipulation from society. This continues to be achieved through private ownership which comes with no state ownership and as a result no influence from our government.

There are a number of factors that influence a news organisation. These consist of political, economic, cultural and technological. All these elements help shape what impacts Jounalism and all news organisations. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were vital ingredients in shaping what we know as the media industry today.  They achieved this through encouraging private enterprise and also helping the market regulate itself.

Having said all this, Mcnair argues that liberal democracies are sometimes forced to support government. He uses example such as newspapers supporting the gulf war and the second world war.

Technology has been of high speed growth in recent years and suddenly everybody finds their way to impact what is available for public eye. People no longer want to know what happened yesterday, but more that they want to know what is happening now. This is achieved through the intervention of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc). Without the history of media and the journalism industry, our current view on the world of press and media might look a lot differently.

An uploaded picture or a football goal can now be seen within seconds of occurrence. With this technological shift comes expectation and demand for more and faster, resulting in yesterdays news no longer being sufficient in todays’ world. This coincides with busier working lives and longer shift patterns, resulting in a ‘non stop’ environment for the media. I conclude with suggesting that the world of press, as a result of being shaped by past events ,people and technological factors, has resulted in a non stop media environment, and the role of a journalist has become more important and demanding as ever.